Idol Gives Back is a charitable campaign that took place in Season 6, Season 7 and Season 9 of American Idol. It served as a way for the voting public of America to donate money to help people living in poverty in both Africa and the United States, especially after the events of Hurricane Katrina.
Season 6[]
The first Idol Gives Back telecast took place April 24th and 25th 2007.
| Chris Richardson | "Change the World" (Eric Clapton) |
| Melinda Doolittle | "There Will Come a Day" (Faith Hill) |
| Blake Lewis | "Imagine" (John Lennon) |
| LaKisha Jones | "I Believe" (Fantasia) |
| Phil Stacey | "The Change" (Garth Brooks) |
| Jordin Sparks | "You'll Never Walk Alone" (Carousel) |
Guest Performances[]
| Earth, Wind and Fire | "Boogie Wonderland", "Shining Star" and "September" (Earth, Wind & Fire) |
| Melinda Doolittle, LaKisha Jones, Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson, Jordin Sparks, Phil Stacey and Quincy Jones | "Time to Care" (Original song) |
| Il Divo | "Somewhere" (Reri Geist) |
| Jack Black | "Kiss from a Rose" (Seal) and "The Greatest Love of All" (Whitney Houston) |
| Carrie Underwood | "I'll Stand by You" by (The Pretenders) |
| Rascal Flatts | "My Wish" (Rascal Flatts) |
| Josh Groban and the African Children's Choir | "You Raise Me Up" (Josh Groban) |
| Kelly Clarkson and Jeff Beck | "Up to the Mountain" (Patty Griffin) |
| Elvis Presley and Celine Dion | "If I Can Dream" (Elvis Presley) |
| Annie Lennox | "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (Simon & Garfunkel) |
| Melinda Doolittle, LaKisha Jones, Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson, Jordin Sparks and Phil Stacey | "American Prayer" (Bono and Dave Stewart) |
This telecast had special appearances from Ellen DeGeneres, David Schwimmer, Sanjaya Malakar, Ben Stiller, Forest Whitaker, Dr. Phil McGraw, Hugh Laurie, Kyle Gass, Seal, Tom Anderson, Rob Lowe, LeBron James, Gwyneth Paltrow, Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Grant, Shaquille O'Neal, Helen Mirren, Blue Man Group, Miss Piggy, Jason Biggs, Rob Schneider, Kirstie Alley, Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts, Keira Knightley, Tom Cruise, Chris Daughtry, Dan Castellaneta (as Homer Simpson), Julie Kavner (as Marge Simpson), Nancy Cartwright (as Bart Simpson), Yeardley Smith (as Lisa Simpson), Madonna, Marc Anthony, Gillian Anderson, Antonio Banderas, Emily Blunt, Michael Buble, Matt Damon, Micky Dolenz, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Teri Hatcher, Goldie Hawn, Chris Kattan, Lisa Kudrow, Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Eric McCormack, Ewan McGregor, Kevin McNally, Parminder Nagra, Bernadette Peters, Twiggy, Harvey Weinstein and Bono.
Over 70 million votes were cast and $76 million was raised for charity.
Notes[]
- Nobody was eliminated during the telecast and the votes from that week would be carried over to the next week, where two contestants would be eliminated.
- Despite Elvis dying 30 years before the telecast, Elvis appeared onstage with Celine Dion via rotoscoping.
Season 7[]
The second Idol Gives Back telecast took place April 8th and 9th, 2008.
| Michael Johns | "Dream On" (Aerosmith) | Eliminated |
| Syesha Mercado | "I Believe" (Fantasia) | Bottom 3 |
| Jason Castro | "Over the Rainbow" (Judy Garland) | Safe |
| Kristy Lee Cook | "Anyway" (Martina McBride) | Safe |
| David Cook | "Innocent" (Our Lady Peace) | Safe |
| Carly Smithson | "The Show Must Go On" (Queen) | Bottom 3 |
| David Archuleta | "Angels" (Robbie Williams) | Safe |
| Brooke White | "You've Got a Friend" (Carole King) | Safe |
Guest Performances[]
| David Archuleta, Jason Castro, David Cook, Kristy Lee Cook, Michael Johns Syesha Mercado, Carly Smithson, Brooke White and various So You Think You Can Dance contestants | "Don't Stop the Music" (Rihanna) |
| Snoop Dogg and Charlie Wilson | "Can't Say Goodbye" (Snoop Dogg) |
| Teri Hatcher and Band from TV | "Before He Cheats" (Carrie Underwood) |
| Miley Cyrus | "Good and Broken" (Miley Cyrus) |
| Fergie and John Legend | "Finally" (Fergie) |
| Fergie and Heart | "Barracuda" (Heart) |
| Annie Lennox | "Many Rivers to Cross" (Jimmy Cliff) |
| Carrie Underwood | "Praying for Time" (George Michael) |
| Gloria Estefan with Sheila E. and various So You Think You Can Dance finalists | "Get on Your Feet" (Gloria Estefan) |
| David Archuleta, Jason Castro, David Cook, Kristy Lee Cook, Michael Johns Syesha Mercado, Carly Smithson and Brooke White | "Seasons of Love" (Cast of Rent) |
| Miley Cyrus | "See You Again" (Miley Cyrus) |
| Mariah Carey with Randy Jackson on bass guitar | "Fly Like a Bird" (Mariah Carey) |
| David Archuleta, Jason Castro, David Cook, Kristy Lee Cook, Michael Johns Syesha Mercado, Carly Smithson, Brooke White and various So You Think You Can Dance contestants | "Shout to the Lord" (Darlene Zschech) |
The telecast had special appearances from Jimmie Johnson, George Lopez, Kylie Minogue, Maria Shriver, Ben Stiller, Jennifer Connelly, Kobe Bryant, Triple H, Mary Murphy, Nigel Lythgoe, The Jonas Brothers, Billy Crystal, Bono, Julianne Moore, John Cena, Adam Sandler, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Kiefer Sutherland, Celine Dion, Jimmy Kimmel, Whoopi Goldberg, Ellen DeGeneres, Sarah Silverman, Forest Whitaker, Keisha Nash Whitaker, Gordon Brown, Keith Urban, Reese Witherspoon, Dane Cook, Alicia Keys, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Billy Ray Cyrus, Robin Williams (as Ivan Popinoff, AKA: Bob the "Russian Idol"), Rob Schneider, Tyra Banks, David Spade, Brad Pitt and Daughtry.
A grand total of $64 million was raised during the campaign.
Notes[]
- Ellen DeGeneres was supposed to be a co-host of the Idol Gives Back telecast like she did the previous year, but dropped out due to a "personal production pressure" [1]
- Jimmie Johnson's name was misspelled as "Jimmy Johnson" during the telecast.
Season 9[]
The third and final Idol Gives Back telecast took place April 21st and 22nd, 2010.
Following this, Idol Gives Back never returned. An executive producer of American Idol stated that they did not feel comfortable asking the American public for money, especially after the ongoing economic crisis and recession that occurred in 2009.